Making utilities accountable to the people they serve
Press Release
From: Coalition to STOP THE BLANK CHECK
Date: July 18, 2016
Contact: Mandy Bidinger, 803-252-5733, amanda@scsbc.org
Frank Knapp Jr., South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, 803-252-5733 (o), 803-600-6874 (c), fknapp@scsbc.org
Lynn Teague, League of Women Voters, (803) 556-9802, teague_l@bellsouth.net
Ben Wislinski, Sierra Club, (202) 870-3188, wislinski@gmail.com
Coalition seeks to stop SCE&G’s Blank Check
Columbia, SC– Today at the South Carolina State House representatives of numerous statewide and local organizations announced a new coalition—STOP THE BLANK CHECK.
This coalition will oppose requests by SCE&G to increase the cost of constructing its two nuclear plants by $846 million and to raise overall electricity rates by 3.06% to pay for construction financing costs of the plants. The South Carolina Public Service Commission will make the decision about these requests later this year.
In addition, the coalition will advocate for legislative changes to the Base Load Review Act that has enabled the nuclear plants to be well over budget, three years behind schedule and very costly to SCE&G customers.
Coalition members to date are: Kingdom Living Temple, National Association of Social Workers-SC Chapter, New Alpha Community Development Corporation, the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, South Carolina Sierra Club, South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, Sustainable Midlands and the Whitney M. Slater Foundation
Should the Public Service Commission approve the rate hike, SCE&G electricity customers will have had their rates increased by approximately 20% since 2009 under a state law, the Base Load Review Act (BLRA). To date SCE&G customers have paid about $1.1 billion in higher electric bills under the BLRA. If the increase in construction costs are approved, the nuclear plants will be about 43% over the original projected budget.
And because Santee Cooper owns 45% of the nuclear plants and their costs, Santee Cooper’s direct retail and the state’s electrical cooperatives’ customers will be dramatically impacted by approval of $846 million in increased construction costs.
The STOP THE BLANK CHECK coalition has launched a website (www.stoptheblankcheck.net) and will advocate for:
- The non-approval this fall of an additional $846.6 million for construction costs for SCE&G’s nuclear plants,
- A reduced SCE&G rate-hike this fall,
- Amending the BLRA in 2017 in order to better protect customers from future run-away costs and rates.
The coalition is inviting other concerned organizations to join them.
“The coalition members agree that our members and constituencies we serve don’t want to pay any more than necessary for constructing the nuclear plants. The Base Load Review Act has turned into a blank check for SCE&G and will be so for future utilities that want to use it. The Act emasculated the Public Service Commission from its proper role of being able to say ‘no’ to SCE&G once it approved the initial project and the PSC can’t even reduce the 10.5% Return on Equity the utility is seeking.” – Frank Knapp Jr., president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce
“The League of Women Voters believes that in South Carolina, the regulatory process of balancing the interests of energy users and producers is not working fairly for the consumer.” – JoAnne Day, co-President of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina
“We have watched time and time again, rate hike after rate hike, as we suffer from being forced to subsidize this imprudent and extremely costly power plant. In both Public Service Commission hearings and in court, the Sierra Club has challenged the cost overruns as imprudent. Unfortunately, we have been denied relief in the face of such an obvious affront to citizens, making it clear that we must amend the Base Load Review Act and change the way utilities are regulated to protect ratepayers.” – Susan Corbett, Energy Committee Chair, South Carolina Sierra Club
“We are concerned about communities with a history of persistent poverty. Many citizens with low or fixed incomes are hard pressed to pay their current utility bills. Continued elevation of their energy bills can prove detrimental to both their health and financial security.” – Reverend Leo Woodberry of Kingdom Living Temple
“The clients we serve live on very little. As rates go up, they feel the consequences in a profound way. They must make decisions like ‘Do I pay this power bill, or do I feed my family?’ It’s an unfair burden to place on citizens who work hard to just make ends meet.” – Carla Damron, executive director for the SC Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers
Mr. Knapp has been approved by the Public Service Commission to intervene in the proceedings regarding the increased costs request. The Sierra Club has requested permission to intervene. There is no provision for intervening in the rate proceedings.
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